AN “INTERESTING” FAMILY TREE

Very few “families” of military aircraft ever evolved with such dramatic design changes as the legendary Curtiss Helldivers. Sharing that same intimidating name, it is hard to believe that the early Curtiss XF8C fixed gear, fabric covered, 450-horsepower biplane had anything in common with the massive, all metal, 1,900-horsepower monplane.

Derived from the famous line of Curtiss Falcon fighters, the initial

1929 U.S. Navy XF8C and Marine Corps O2C Helldivers were a diminutive 32foot span, with less than a third of the horsepower of the massive final versions of the Helldiver family, the SB2C series monoplanes, which had a nearly 50-foot span.

The fixed-gear fabric biplanes became popular icons of naval air power through their fame that was greatly boosted by their use in two of the most popular motion pictures of that era. Even today, 80 years later, they continue to be part of the enduring public lore as “the planes that shot down King Kong.” At nearly the same time, they were the featured subject and title of another major Hollywood hit, “Hell Divers,” featuring Wallace Beery and showcasing Clark Gable in an early starring role.

The success of the first series of Helldivers led to the second generation of biplanes, when the SBC series (SB for Scout Bomber) with retractable landing gear, and nearly double the horsepower, was redesigned to deliver a 1,000-pound bomb. Numerous improvements were made through the mid to late 1930s, and with the biplane quickly approaching obsolescence, the Navy called for designs of an all-new dive bomber with vastly improved features and capabilities. It was not lost on the Navy that the weekly movie theater newsreels were full of impressive films

of the success and importance of the new German Stuka dive bombers, occasionally used in the Spanish Civil War.

The Navy sought a long-range scout and bomber to replace the obsolescent Douglas SBD and that was designed to carry torpedoes, depth charges, or bombs. Because it was to operate without fighter escort, the new Helldivers were to have heavy defensive armament and protective armor and carry a heavy load at a good rate of speed. Among the other required specifications that complicated the project, included the requirement to fit, and be moved two at a time, on an aircraft carrier’s elevators.

With high hopes that the new Helldiver could play a significant role in the fleet, the government subsidized a new plant, constructed just for SB2C production, in Columbus, Ohio.

As with all new projects, there were a number of considerable delays and more than the usual share of production and designchange problems. Like the earlier SBC series, the SB2C prototypes were quickly lost in crashes and structural failures. The new monoplanes had seemingly more problems than were worthwhile, when the initial carrier testing resulted in crashes and losses, with complaints of serious instability and major structural problems.

In 1943, after the intitial carrier tests for the SB2C-1 on the carrier Yorktown (CV-10), the captain in charge recommended that further production should probably be abandoned. Before the SB2C series could be accepted for use in combat, nearly a year and a half passed, correcting and incorporating more than 880 design changes. Worse, the delays came during the critical wartime rush to arms after Pearl Harbor.

The eventual evolution resulted in a long range, speedy, well armored, dive-bomber that could make a difference in combat missions.

Some versions with extra tanks and belly tanks could have a range of over 2,000 miles. And with the early machine gun configurations being replaced by two 20mm wing cannon and the radioman-gunner’s twin machine guns and with a bomb bay loaded with two bombs and other bomb loads on the wings, it packed a punch. In the end, it was finally worthy of representing the Helldiver dynasty.

The first plane to be called a Helldiver, the F8C was changed from a two-seat fighter to a dive bomber in 1929. It was also destined to become a cultural icon as the plane that shot down King Kong.

The XF8C-7 of 1930 was the second prototype with a modest 460hp Pratt & Whitney. The large circular emblem behind the cowl reads “Curtiss Navy Helldiver.” Right: The Navy O2C-1 Helldivers were from the same generation. This one is shown with a rare enclosed cabin installation in 1930.

The prototype XSB2C-1 of 1940 initially had considerable structural and handling problems. The program was nearly cancelled and the Navy demanded more than 880 design changes before it would be approved for combat.

At the height of its design evolution, the XSBC-4 of 1938, shown here with its 1,000-pound bomb and 750hp Pratt & Whitney, was the last of the U.S. Navy biplane combat planes, circa 1939.

The XSBC series biplane of the mid 1930s was the second generation Helldiver, with the huge improvement of retractable landing gear.